Coming Soon

COYOTE SPECIES: Canis latrans

AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 

Tesky, Julie L. 1995. Canis latrans.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

ABBREVIATION : CALA

COMMON NAMES : 

   coyote

   brush wolf

   prairie wolf

   American jackal

TAXONOMY : 

The currently accepted scientific name for the coyote is Canis latrans Say.
It is in the family Canidae.  Nineteen subspecies are currently recognized, 
however; only 16 subspecies occur in Mexico, the United States, and Canada:

latrans cagottis (Hamilton-Smith) (Mexican coyote) 

latrans clepticus Elliot (San Pedro Martir coyote)       

latrans frustror Woodhouse (southeastern coyote)

latrans impavidus Allen (Durango coyote)       

latrans incolatus Hall (northern coyote)

latrans jamesi Townsend (Tiburon Island coyote)

latrans latrans (plains coyote)      

latrans lestes Merriam (mountain coyote)

latrans mearnsi Merriam (Mearns coyote)

latrans microdon Merriam (Lower Rio Grande coyote)

latrans ochropus Eschscholtz (California valley coyote)       

latrans peninsulae Merriam (peninsula coyote) 

latrans texesis Bailey (Texas plains coyote)

latrans thamnos Jackson (northeastern coyote)

latrans umpquesis Jackson (northwest coast coyote)

latrans vigilis Merriam (Colima coyote)

Fertile hybrids have been produced by matings of coyotes with feral dogs 
(C. familiaris), red wolves (C. rufus), gray wolves (C. lupus), and red foxes 
(Vulpes vulpes.)  Coyote-dog hybrids exhibit decreased fecundity.

ORDER : Carnivora

CLASS : Mammal

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : None

OTHER STATUS : 

Information on state- and province-level protection status of animals in the 
United States and Canada is available at NatureServe, although recent changes in status
may not be included.

WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

WILDLIFE SPECIES: Canis latrans

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 

Coyotes are found from Costa Rica to northern Alaska, and from coast to coast in the 
United States and Canada.  The highest densities occur in the Great Plains states 
and in south-central United States.  Coyotes are absent from the barrens and Arctic islands 
of northern Canada, including much of northern Quebec, northern Newfoundland, and Labrador.
Coyotes are uncommon where gray wolf populations are high in northeastern 

Minnesota, northern Alaska, the Northwest. Territories, Manitoba, and Ontario.  
The distribution of coyotes in eastern North America has expanded during this century.
In some states such as Florida and Georgia, coyotes have been introduced.
Today, all eastern states and provinces have at least a small population of coyotes. 
Distribution of the subspecies is listed below:

Mexican coyote - Occurs in Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Pueblo, and Veracrus, Mexico.  
Its range may extend into southern Nuevo Leon and southern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

San Pedro Martir coyote - Occurs in northern Baja California and southwestern 
California (mostly San Diego County).

southeastern coyote - Occurs in southeastern and extreme eastern Kansas, 
Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Durango coyote - Occurs along the Pacific coast drainage of western Mexico 
between about 22 degrees and 26 degrees north latitude, extreme southern Sonora,
extreme southwestern Chihuahua, western Durango, western Zacatecas, and Sinaloa.

northern coyote - In Canada, northern coyotes occur in Yukon Territory, the Northwest
Territories, northern British Columbia, and northern Alberta.  In the United States, northern
coyotes occur in most of Alaska except the southeastern coastal section.

Tiburon Island coyote - Occurs on Tiburon Island off Baja California.

plains coyote - In Canada, plains coyotes occur in southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan,
and the extreme southwestern corner of Manitoba. In the United States, they occur in Montana,
Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains, and the northeastern corner of New Mexico;
North Dakota except the northeastern quarter; northwestern Oklahoma, and the northern 
Panhandle region of Texas.

mountain coyote - In Canada, mountain coyotes occur in southern British Columbia and 
southeastern Alberta.  In the United States, they occur in Oregon and Washington east of the
Cascade Range, northern California, Idaho, western Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado
(except the southeast corner), northern and central Nevada, and northern and central Utah.

Mearns coyote - Occurs in southwestern Colorado, extreme southern Utah and Nevada,
southeastern California, northeastern Baja California, Arizona, west of the Rio Grande in
New Mexico, and Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico.

Lower Rio Grande coyote - Occurs in extreme southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

California valley coyote - Occurs in California west of the Sierra Nevada, except in the northern part.

peninsula coyote - Occurs on the Baja California peninsula.

Texas plains coyote - Occurs in Texas, except for the northern panhandle region, the eastern
part, and the extreme southern tip.  Texas plains coyotes also occur in eastern New Mexico
except for the northeastern corner, and part of northeastern Mexico.

northeastern coyote - In Canada, northeastern coyotes occur in north-central Saskatchewan,
Manitoba (except the extreme southwestern corner), southern Ontario, and extreme southern
Quebec.  In the United States, northeastern coyotes occur along the eastern edge of North Dakota
and in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri (north of the Missouri River), Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois
(except the extreme southern portion), and northern Indiana.

northwest coast coyote - Occurs west of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington.

Colima coyote - Occurs along the southwestern Pacific slope of Jalisco, Michoacan,
and Guerrero, Mexico.